Atami, Japan

Atami is on the Izu peninsula, directly south of Mt. Fuji. It's ranked as one of the top 3 hot springs in Japan for some reason. Must be nice!



A little over developed to put it nicely.



To put it a more honest way, this resort area is covered with cement. The tetrapods lining the waterfront matches quite nicely with the rather generic hotels that cover every inch of the hillsides.



Being a "famous" place, though, expect some cheesy tourist attractions. There's a ropeway that takes you to an erotic museum.



There's also a castle up there, but the old, decrepit adult museum is classic. Classic in a sad way. Classic in the way that the beggar sleeping on a park bench has grungy toe nails.



But you should know by now, if you read what I write, that I love this shit. Take this shrine for example. At most shrines you can write your wishes on small pieces of wood. Outside the adult museum there is a shrine... well it's not a shrine in any official way. I don't think any Shinto priests ordained this. Anyways, the image is supposed to be two rings connected to each other.



A placard costs 5 or 6 bucks. I smell shenanigans!



But if you look at the statue of the rings... it's not romantic at all! It's totally someone hanging their head in shame!



Ok, moving on. There is a local story about the Omiya no Matsu (Omiya's Pine Tree). To sum it up, this girl is in love with some guy, but she goes for the rich guy instead because of a gigantic diamond ring. So under this pine tree, her lover kicks her, saying "Get the hell out with your big ass diamond!"



What?



Yep, it's a monument dedicated to beating the shit out of your girlfriend.



Those aren't Nikes, they're some hard wooden geta. And he's not even fighting her, he probably slapped her to the ground before laying down the pain. Wooden shoe to the knee!



Go to this museum!



The MOA is a decent collection of Asian art. I think the highlight is the architecture... it's breathtaking.





There's a garden and a Noh theater there too. The entrance way is about 20 stories of escalators going up through multicolored lights and stars and... well my photos of it aren't good so just take my word. And take some drugs if ya got em.



Oh yeah, Atami also has tons of hot springs, so hop in if that's you thing. I went to an outdoor one where people driving down the toll road could easily see my ding a ling! Celebrate!